Initial claims for unemployment are up again in South Dakota.
There were 911 new claims for unemployment benefits last week, up from 775 the previous week. But South Dakota had the third-lowest number of claims in the nation.
The number of South Dakotans currently receiving unemployment benefits is 15,464.
Since the pandemic began in mid-March, 60,652 people in the state have filed unemployment claims. The state and federal government have paid out $278.6 million in unemployment benefits.
The biggest share of those benefits - almost $206 million - is from the federal government. That includes:
- $195 million from Federal Pandemic Unemployment, which is the recently expired $600 extra weekly benefit;
- $9.7 million from Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which extended benefits to the self-employed, independent contractors and gig workers;
- And $1 million from Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which extends unemployment benefits for 13 weeks after regular benefits are exhausted.
The remaining $72.9 million came from the state's unemployment trust fund, which is supported by employer taxes and currently has a balance of $123.8 million.